Thanksgiving

We left Wednesday afternoon and headed to the mountains.

I never get tired of that view.  Makes even the early mornings waking up with Joel worth it to see the sunrise.  Joel is definitely a Gouger and can't sleep past 6 if he tried!  We wont let him out of his room until 6am so 5:59 I hear him open his door. 

 Norah wasn't sure why we all get excited for eating on Thanksgiving.  Her plate consisted of this:

 

Joel was upset that we only ate one meal on Thanksgiving day.  We had breakfast and snacks and of course leftovers for dinner but I told him we just eat one main meal. I think we ate around 1ish but he wasn't liking that and went on and on about how that was a bad idea.  BUT WHY.....That doesn't sound fun....why do we even have thanksgiving??  But he was well fed and learned about a turkey sandwich for dinner.

 Joel started making a list of all the different kinds of birds that came to the bird feeder and then started drawing them.

These two colored all weekend long

We ended Thanksgiving by face timing with Angela and the boys.

Thankful

 Joel and Norah are really into crafts and holiday themed  worksheets. Norah filled out this ABC thankful sheet in Sunday School and came home and did a few more.  I love how Angela was her A. She loves her Aunt Angela.

 We celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend before with Brents dad and Joel came up with this turkey headband all on his own.  He was so proud of it he packed it up to go to Blacksburg with us that next week.

 Joel has also discovered Pinterest and decided he wanted to papermache his own turkey.  It actually came out pretty cute.  I helped with making the paper mache glue and showed him how to do it but he designed it and did it all himself.

 Norah's class made these cute turkeys on day in school. It happened to be right before library time where I volunteer. All the kids walked in so proud of their thankful turkeys and loved to show me what they had written on the feathers.  I love that Norah's turkey is wearing a necklace.

 Norah was so proud but I had to question her about this one feather....

I should probably add that this is NOT a baby announcement! HA! We are very happy and content with our three children.  Poor Norah - one day she will get two sisters when the boys marry and I hope she gets two like her Aunt Angela.

School

I can't believe we are a week away from Thanksgiving.  

We have finally settled into the school routine.  Life has been busy after school. The boys are swimming on a swim team three days a week, then add in church, youth group, Norah's gymnastics, and we typically have only one night off  during the week.  The boys are both signed up for different basketball leagues so we will be adding that to the schedule on top of all we do.  I don't know how most families do it.

Joel has had no problems.  He loved it from the start.  His teacher is amazing.  He is still our strong willed stubborn boy but at least in school he reins it in.  I went to his teacher conference a few weeks ago and his teacher went on and on about what a calm gentle soul he is!  I had to laugh because lately he's been anything but calm and gentle at home.

Norah had a rough first month.  She hated it.  Didn't want to go in the mornings.  She would beg me to homeschool her but I kept her in.  We typically play for about an hour most mornings with her friend Hannah down the street.  When it was time to go to school she would happily leave Hannah's house with the promise to play later that afternoon when she got home. So the fact that she stopped playing with her friend and then happily went to school made me keep her in.  And she would come home all smiles.  Around the first week in October they introduced stations in her classroom.  During reading time the teacher pulls groups of kids and helps them with reading while the rest of the class rotates between different stations.  NORAH LOVES THIS!!!! I'm glad I kept her in. Her teacher said it took 19 days to teach the kids how to be independent enough for the stations to run smoothly.  Kindergarten teachers must have tons of patience!   Friday is poetry day where they highlight their sight words in the poem then color the picture.  She couldn't wait to go to school this morning.  She comes home and spends hours and hours recreating what she does at the stations.  She plays school all afternoon and practices her handwriting and letter sounds.  I've volunteered in her classroom during station time, helping the kids mainly at the stamping station so they don't ruin the stamps! ha! But its fun for me to see what exactly happens during the class time.  Norah is still the most popular girl I think because each day I walk her in past the three kindergarten busses and they all start waving and calling out to Norah.  And now I've started getting huge hugs and high fives and waves from all the kids.  Its really fun.  I also volunteer each week in the library so that's been fun.

Colin has adjusted I think to middle school.  Right now he's in the midst of trying out for the basketball team.  Close to 100 kids try out for 12 spots so the competition is rough.  So he is hopeful but also optimistic.  He joined Young Life and the fact that he sets his alarm early every Tuesday to get to school by 7am is amazing.  He loves it.  There are close to 200 kids that go! He is doing well in his classes.... but we are entering the world of girls and peer pressure and all that. Middle school is rough.  Navigating your kids through it is rough.   His mother isn't ready for any of this!  But he did ask our neighbor Tanner on the bus (Tanner is in 8th grade) about a situation and Tanner said I don't know - go ask your mom.  So Tanner, who was already a  favorite of mine, has become even more favorable in my eyes!

I wish I could keep my babies little longer.  This year sending them back to school has been harder for me I think because I don't have any babies at home anymore.  But I do enjoy this stage where we are at with the kids.  And I'm sure in a few years looking back at this stage I'm going to think how young they once were.

Forgotten child

All three kids go to three different schools this year which means three different bus times in the afternoon.  Joel gets home at 2:30 and Norah around 3.  Then Colin comes home around 4.  Joel and Colin can just get off the bus and walk into the house. But for kindergarteners we need to show a card with a number on it that matches a number on Norah's backpack. Her bus driver Miss Patty knows me by now but I always walk out with the card in case she has a substitute bus driver. If you aren't there at the bus stop they will bring the kindergartners back to school to wait for their parents. One little girl had to ride the bus back to school because her grandmother wasn't at the bus stop one day.  Norah was very concerned for her friend and also that I wouldn't be there one day.  I assured her that I would always be there especially since I always had to be there for Joel before her. I told her if I wasn't out at the bus stop then have the bus driver just honk and I would come outside....

Well its a good thing we had that discussion because a few weeks ago I completely forgot about Norah.  Joel had come home from school and I had gotten him a snack and we talked about the day.  Then usually I will go outside and wait for Norah.  But somehow that day I completely forgot about her.  I went to the bathroom and heard someone honking really loud but I thought it was on the street behind us. Then I went into all the bedrooms and gathered up laundry and was putting clothes in the washer when I heard the honking again. And again and again. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was Norah's bus!!!! I ran out of the house to a very upset child who was afraid of going back to school.  Thankfully Norah is the last child on the bus because I'm pretty sure she had been outside honking for me for over 5 minutes.  Her bus driver was a little annoyed.

Norah doesn't know that I completely forgot about her. Norah thinks her bus was early that day since a few kids were absent and they could skip those stops. I didn't want to tell her yet that I just forgot about her or she would be a nervous wreck every afternoon waiting to see if I was outside waiting for her.  Colin thinks its all hilarious and likes to tell me that I have never forgotten about him.

Williamsburg Trick or Treat

This summer when we were visiting Mom and Dad I got a text from a neighbor asking if we would like to join them and a few other neighbors for Williamsburg's Trick or Treating. You have to get tickets and they sell out pretty quick.  We've heard so many great things about it so I said yes and immediately got our tickets. The kids have been excited for months for this.  Four families went and the fact that Norah's teacher was coming with us was very exciting for Norah. We went in the afternoon geared towards younger kids so it wouldn't be scary,  I think they do a ghost walk or something like that later that night.  

It was a beautiful fall day. The weather was perfect.  However, it was not like the past few years that our neighbors have gone and they kept apologizing all night to us.  We got off the shuttle and had to wait an hour in line just to get into the trick or treating area and then follow in a line all around for the trick or treating.  Jeff came and met us but they wouldn't let him beyond a rope to get into the trick or treating to walk around with us. But the kids had fun with their friends and it was perfect weather to be outside.

Colin loved wearing his costume.  He said last weekend everyone commented on Norah's dress - this weekend everyone was taking pictures and videos of him walking around.

It was a fun afternoon and now the kids are even more excited for Halloween.

Apple Picking

On the way home from Blacksburg we stopped to go apple picking at Carters Mountain. We were a litte worried about the crowds.  One year it took close to two hours to get up the mountain because of all the cars.  But this year we timed it right and just drove straight up.  I guess late afternoon on a Sunday is the best time to go. 

I haven't figured out if Brent was wearing this shirt in UVA territory as a disclaimer or with pride. 

Ant Ant came with us this year!

 

The kids have been asking since school started when we were going to go apple picking. They were very excited to finally go.

Colin was upset at me the whole time because I wouldn't let him bite into an apple.  The dentist said he couldn't bite into apples or corn on the cobb anymore after he had his chipped front tooth fixed.  I told Colin he could take that risk once he starts paying for his own dental bills.  But I did feel bad he couldn't bite into one. Fresh picked apples are so good.  I had meant to bring an apple slicer but had forgotten to bring it.

A great ending to the weekend!